Horror Actressing: Manuela Velasco in "[REC]" (2007)

by Jason Adams

Whenever you read a plot synopsis of the 2007 found-footage masterpiece [REC] by Spanish filmmakers Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza (both of whom have gone on to make outstanding films on their own, not to mention a couple of outstanding sequels to [REC] itself) it's worth noting that the synopsis always leaves out the first fifteen minutes of the movie. It's always like this, stolen off Wikipedia:

"Reporter Ángela Vidal and her cameraman Pablo are covering the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the documentary television series While You're Sleeping. While they are recording, the firehouse receives a call about an old woman..."

There is far more meat to that "while they are recording" then one would think...

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Sandy Powell ❤️ plaid

Powell on the set of "The Irishman"by Cláudio Alves

Some auteurists would have you believe that only directors among filmmakers have a distinctive style, a visual language transversal to all their projects. People like Sandy Powell, one of AMPAS' favorite costume designers, defy this logic. Her films share an aesthetic ethos and her taste is ever-present. Notice, for instance, how Powell has a penchant for saturated contrasting colors and bold patterns, often filling the frame with a cacophony of clashing prints. Her approach is so characteristic, in part, because busy textiles aren't something that normally works on camera.

Too much visual information can often distract the audience, dispersing the focus instead of guiding the eye with careful purpose. Powell, however, is capable of making it all work and her films are always bursting at the seams with complicated motifs, be it moiré silks or paisley wools, sequined brocades or floral cotton. Most of all, Powell loves plaid...

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The New Classics: The Babadook

Hello, everyone. Michael Cusumano here to close out the second season of The New Classics. Since I'm wrapping it up so close to Halloween I feel like it's my duty to honor one of the 21st Century's new horror icons.

At first glance Mr. Babadook appears to be a character engineered to anchor a horror franchise. His distinctive silhouette, with his spidery claws and wardrobe right out of Dr. Caligari’s cabinet, seems ready-made for branding. It’s only once you’ve been through the psychological wringer of Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook that you realize how ill-suited the character is to such a role. The Babadook is a single serving tormentor, tailored specifically to the psychological scars of Essie Davis’s Amelia. He could no more pick up and move to a different victim than Mrs. Bates could torture someone other than poor Norman.

Scene: The Book Returns...

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Showbiz History: Wait until dark for full frontal Oscar nominees

8 random things that happened on this day, October 27th, in showbiz history

Sonny & Cher in 1964

1964 Sonny & Cher marry. Huge fame follows the next summer with the release of their debut album and their first #1 hit I Got You Babe"

1967  Opening weekend for the thriller Wait Until Dark. It's a hit at the box office and snags star Audrey Hepburn, playing a blind woman, her fifth and final Oscar nomination at the age of 38...

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Fav Halloweens: Living my "Pretty Woman" fantasy

We thought it might be fun if Team Experience shared a few of our favourite Halloween memories with you.

by Christopher James

Some people mark time by birthdays. I mark them with Halloween costumes.

Halloween costume planning was always a weeks long planning process growing up. Harry Potter, James Bond, Ash from Pokemon - I did it all. Seven year old me wanted to be cool so bad he begged his parents for an Anakin Skywalker costume even though he had never seen any Star Wars movie yet. As you can tell by those examples, Halloween reflected my pop culture taste at the time. It was my yearly permission to pretend I was in one of my favorite movies. It’s safe to say, I never grew out of my love for Halloween.

It wasn’t until I was 25 that was able to finally pull off dressing as my ultimate pop culture hero - Vivian Ward. Yes, we’re born gay, not made gay...

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